


A Fit of Cruelty

by Grayson1996



Series: Batman Bingo 2020 [3]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Batfamily (DCU), Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne - Freeform, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne - Freeform, Dick Grayson-centric, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt Dick Grayson, Hurt/Comfort, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Red Kryptonite, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:59:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25886968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grayson1996/pseuds/Grayson1996
Summary: After being dosed with an unknown red substance Dick becomes cruel and cold towards his family. A biting argument with Bruce and a brutal tear down of Damian leaves the Batfam desperate to get the old Dick back.
Series: Batman Bingo 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1860874
Comments: 4
Kudos: 107





	A Fit of Cruelty

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of my Batman Bingo collection, the prompt for this fic is "Don't act innocent." 
> 
> Dick - 28  
> Tim- 18  
> Damian - 11

**Dick’s P.O.V.**

Driving from Bludhaven to Gotham on his one day off at nine o’clock in the morning wasn’t something Dick particularly cared to do. But Bruce had requested Dick’s help on some project and, of course, he wouldn’t take no for an answer. The hour-long drive was tedious on the best of days and having only gotten two hours of sleep last night after a particularly grueling patrol, Dick’s patience was near non-existent. 

His hands tightened around the steering wheel as he thought back on the goon who had gotten the drop on him last night. A cloud of anger coursing over him at the thought. It had been a relatively standard patrol when he had gotten word that a new drug was arriving via the harbor that night. No one knew what the drug did, or why people wanted to buy it, but Nightwing didn’t need a reason for breaking it up. Heading to the harbor he got there just in time to see a group of men transporting crates from the dock. There were only a handful of them and, despite being armed, it was apparent they were your run of the mill hired guns.

Dropping down he took out two of the men before the others even noticed he was there. The fight had been lackluster, something Nightwing was grateful for. He was about to investigate the crates when a sound caught his attention. Turning around he was met with a puff of red dust flying into his face. Coughing, his eyes started to water as he took in a large goon who seemed to appear out of nowhere. For a moment the two just stared at one another, it was clear that the man was not aware of what the drug did and was waiting for something to happen. Dick didn’t have his patience, and after gaining his bearings he took him down with ease.

One call to the Bludhaven police department and a drug sample sent to Oracle later and Dick was crawling into bed. Angry that he had allowed himself to be blindsided but relieved that it appeared that this shipment of drugs was faulty.

A ring startled Dick out of his thoughts and keeping one hand on the wheel he picked up his cell phone. A spike of annoyance shot through him as he took in Barbara’s contact photo. The fact that he had sent her the drug sample several hours ago and she was only just now calling him made him answer the phone with a huff.

“What.” For a moment it was silent, as though Barbara was startled by the abrupt greeting.

“Dick, are you alright?” Rolling his eyes he slowed down as he reached the manor drive. Stopping at the gate he punched in the security code. “Dick?”

“I’m fine, do you have an update?” Another pause.

“Not yet, I’m still waiting on a few tests to come back in. The drug isn’t an opioid, it feels similar to Joker Venom of Fear Toxin but it doesn’t have traces of either and your lack of re-”   
  


“Why are you calling me if you don’t have an update?” This time Barbara huffed out in annoyance.

“Dick you're being really rude.” Dick scoffed as he pulled into an empty parking space and turned his car off.

“I asked you hours ago to analyze this drug Barbara. And after hours you call me to, what? Check up, chit chat? I don’t have the time and frankly I have no desire to ‘small’ talk with you. So do me a favor and call me back when you actually have something useful to say.” Hanging up he tossed his phone onto the passenger’s seat and got out of the car. He began making his way to the front door, hopeful that whatever Bruce needed would be quick. Just as he reached the porch the door swung open and Damian stood in the frame. Face stoic but eyes shining with something akin to happiness. 

“Grayson, Father mentioned who would be arriving this morning.” He stood body language open, it was clear that though he did not instigate an embrace, he had grown accustomed to receiving a hug whenever he saw Dick. Dick however had no patience for him today and moving past him he entered the home.

“Bruce has ‘requested my presence’ whatever the hell that means.” A frown appeared on Damian’s face at the curt reply and after shutting the door he ran to catch up with Dick.

“Yes, I attempted to find out what he needed help with, as I am more than capable to assist on any project, but he would not tell me.”

“Bruce not communicating? What a shocker.” Another frown.

“Quite.” Dick could tell Damian was scrutinizing him and for some reason that caused another flash of anger to strike through him.  _ What right did that brat have to judge Dick? _ He thought,  _ Was he not allowed to ever be angry, to not be ‘on’, was it so strange that the ‘great Dick Grayson’ wasn’t kissing everyone’s ass every second of the day? _ Damian continued unaware of Dick’s internal monologue. “Did I tell you about what Drake did the other day, the imbecile actually tried to play a prank on me. As if he ever could successfully surprise me. He placed a large bucket full of sludge atop my door frame and -”

“What do you want Damian?” Stopping Dick turned around to glare down at his Brother. Damian for his part seemed surprised by the question and stopped suddenly as another frown appeared on his face. A slight flash a hurt flickered in his eyes, and for whatever reason, that incensed Dick further.

“We always catch up when you come back to the manor, you said it was ‘important to ensure that our Brotherly bonds remain intact’.”

“Yeah well, right now I don’t particularly care to “bond” so just leave me alone.” A moment of hesitation.

“Grayson are you alright?” Fury flooded Dick at the question and he took a threatening step towards Damian. 

“Jesus, what is it with everyone today? I’m fine, I’d be better if I didn’t have to listen to you drone on about yet another thing that Tim did. You go on and on about how you’re superior to all of us but all you do is complain. Every time I talk to you you're complaining. You complain about Tim, about Bruce. And you know what? I don’t care Damian. So do us all a favor and just shut-up for once.”

“Dick!” Turning around he caught sight of Tim bounding down the grand staircases a look of disbelief on his face. “ What the hell are you doing?”

“Don’t act so surprised I’m just saying what we’ve all thought, Tim.” Looking back at Damian he noticed for the first time tears beginning to gather in his eyes. A cruel laugh escaped Dick’s mouth as he looked down at the boy in disgust. “Pathetic. No wonder Talia disposed of you.” Turning his back on the boy he walked past Tim who was staring at him in shock. Without looking back he made his way up the stairs to Bruce’s study.

**Damian’s P.O.V.**

“Pathetic. No wonder Talia disposed of you.” A sharp pain erupted in Damian’s chest at the words coming from his Father figure. Never had Grayson spoke so cruelly to him, never had he looked at him with such disgust. His other ‘siblings’ had never been nice to him but with every insult, there was a knowledge that they didn’t mean it. Looking into Grayson’s eyes he could tell that he meant every word.

Turning around he ran out the hall and into the library. Crawling under a large desk he pulled his knees up against his chest and wrapped his arms around them. Tears slowly began to fall down his face and angrily he reached up and wiped them away.

‘Pathetic’ that’s what his Mother used to say when she’d seen him cry. Grayson knew that. Grayson knew how he had been taught to hide his emotions. He had encouraged Damian to show them here, had said that the manor was a safe space. That no one would think less of him if he were to show his hurt.

Obviously that was a lie.

Perhaps it had been a ruse. Perhaps Grayson had merely been testing him as they did in the league. Giving him the option to ‘feel’ but expecting him to know better than to do so. If that was the case then he failed, as he always did. 

A slow creek filled the room and Damian tensed as the library door swung open. Half afraid that it was Grayson about to reprimand him again. The footsteps that entered the room however were too heavy to belong to the acrobat.

“I know you’re under the desk, Damian.” If possible Damian tensed further.

“Go away Drake.” There was a heavy sigh and after some shuffling Tim’s feet were in front of him. After a moment Tim’s head became visible as he crouched before Damian. A look of pity instantly filled his face as he took in Damian’s tears.

“He didn’t mean it.” Damian scoffed, sitting up from his vulnerable position.

“Obviously that’s not true.”

“No Damian, somethings wrong. I’ve never heard Dick talk like that. Even when he argued with Bruce he was never so…” He seemed hesitant to finish the thought.

“Cruel?” Tim let out another sigh. 

“Yeah. You know him Damian, he doesn’t have a mean bone in his body.” A slight flutter of hope flew through his chest, but Damian did his best to quell it. Hope led to disappointment, and he would not allow Grayson to disappoint him again.

“Then explain what just happened Drake.” After a moment of staring at one another Tim sat down in front of Damian.

“I can’t.” Damian let out a tut, but before he could say anything a shrill ringing came from Tim’s shirt pocket. Jumping in surprise Tim fumbled to pull out his phone and looked down at the screen with a frown. Accepting the call he brought it to his ear. 

“Look Barbara now's not a great-” Tim paused interrupted and Damian inched closer hearing Barbara talk quickly into his ear. “Yeah, he was here, he was acting...strange.” Damian scoffed at this but Tim quieted him with a quick glare. “He said some things to Damian... it was pretty out of character...I think he’s with Bruce now. Why Barbara what’s going on?” Tim’s eyes widened at her response and he quickly stood up. “We’ll take care of it.” 

“What’s going on?” Without answering Tim bounded out of the room, and scrambling Damian pulled himself from under the desk and ran after him. The two made their way back to the main hall just in time to see the front door wide open and to hear Dick’s car pull from the manor driveway. After a moment a set of loud footfalls quickly made their way down the stairs and looking up the two boys saw Bruce rushing down.

“Somethings wrong with Dick.” Tim moved forward to meet Bruce at the base of the stairs.

“Barbara called, apparently he was drugged last night.” A hardened look crossed Bruce’s face and his jaw seemed to tense.

“Call the others.”

**Bruce’s P.O.V.**

Bruce looked up at the sound of footsteps making their way up the stairs. Closing the file he was currently looking through, a statement of Wayne Industries finances from last quarter, he pushed it to the side. Nervously he began to rub his hands together suddenly feeling unprepared. It wasn’t often he called Dick back home for a non-hero related issue. And somehow needing help as Bruce Wayne was harder than needing it as Batman. As the footsteps came closer he smoothed the front of his shirt down and re-rolled his sleeves. Finishing just as Dick strolled through the door.

The sight of his son left Bruce feeling unsettled. His hair was falling in front of his face instead of pulled back his usual slicked-back style. His clothing was void of any of the bright colors and jarring patterns Dick favored and instead was strangely subdued and monotone. But the strangest was the look of irritation on Dick’s face. Bruce had been subjected to the look many times in Dick’s teenage years, but he rarely wore it now. Instead opting for a small smile that seemed to spread his inherent optimism wherever he went. He didn’t realize how long he sat there staring until Dick glared at him and crossed his arms.

“You wanted to see me?” The tone seemed just as icy as his look, but did its job in settling Bruce. He had an objective, a reason for asking Dick here, and he always did better with a mission.

“I did, thank you for coming so early.” He gestured to the seat in front of him, which Dick took, mumbling slightly under his breath.

“Not like I had much choice.” Bruce raised an eyebrow and felt his own temper stir but pushed it down quickly. He couldn’t let his anger get the best of him, even if Dick was acting..moody.

“I wanted to talk to you about Damian.”

“Did he get in a fight at school again?” Dick asked leaning back into the chair looking as though he was bored with the conversation. Bruce Frowned.

“No, he -”

“With Tim then?

“No, that wasn’t-”

“Then what is there to talk about?” Bruce clenched his fists at the interruptions and breathed deeply to center himself. Speaking through clenched teeth he continued. “I wanted to speak to you about an idea I had to take Damian out on a non-Batman activity. we have yet to truly bond outside of patrol and was hoping-”

“You called me here because you’re incapable of being a decent Father?” If Bruce were a different man his jaw would have dropped at the venom in his son’s voice. As it was, he froze and stared at Dick who had sat up from his casual position with a sneer on his face. “Did it ever cross your mind that I might have more important things to do than play ‘Damian whisper’?”  _ No it hadn’t, _ Bruce thought,  _ Because nothings more important to you then Damian _ . 

“I understand that you’re busy but I figured that you’d-”

“What Bruce? Figured that I’d run just because “Daddy” came calling?” At this Bruce stood up banging a fist against his desk.

“What is going on with you today?” Dick stood as well as though in a challenge, leaning over Bruce’s desk to get into his face.

“What’s wrong with me today?” He asked as though actually thinking about his answer “Today I’ve realized that I’m done being a weak spineless follower to a family that doesn’t care about anyone but themselves. A family that I’m not even a part of.” 

“Of course you're a part of this family, you’re my son Dick. Where is this even coming from?”

“I’m not your son” Dick spat out, making Bruce flinch back at the anger in his face. “And you're not my Dad. Let’s not kid ourselves here Bruce. How is it that you have adopted children by the barrel full and yet you never managed to adopt me?” A sense of unease seemed to settle in Bruce’s gut.  _ Because you never wanted that, right?  _ Bruce thought, but it seemed as though his mouth was detached from his brain so instead he just stared at Dick. Who seemed vindicated by the silence. __

“Nothing to say to that huh? I’m not a part of this family Bruce. I’m the test run to see if you could have a kid and not destroy it. But the thing is I’m an outlier because you destroy Bruce. You destroy all of us. You destroyed Tim, you certainly destroyed Jason, you’d destroy Cass if she already wasn’t so broken, and one day you’ll destroy Damian too. But you’re not going to destroy me, not any longer.” Shame filled him at Dick’s words, it was clear that his son believed what he was saying and that was unacceptable. Finally, he got his mouth to work.

“I have always tried my best with you all Dick. And I’m sorry if that’s not enough but-” A harsh laugh cut through his words leaving Bruce once again speechless. Never had he heard Dick sound like that. Even when they were at their worst, fighting and screaming, Dick never sounded so cruel.

“Of course it isn’t enough, And do you know why Bruce? Because you’re incompetent and cold. Not to mention stoic, completely void of what a normal person would call love. Because you're so distracted by the mission that you have no concept of reality. And no idea how to connect with your own child. You know what I call that Bruce? Failure. I’ve watched you fail day in and day out and I’m tired of picking up the pieces for you.” Turning around Dick began to walk back towards the door and Bruce knew he had to stop him. The words Dick had said were words he had thought to himself often enough. But still he had to convince his son that Dick was wrong, that he loved them all. And if that wasn’t apparent now then Bruce would do better. Coming from around the desk Bruce moved towards Dick and gently placed a hand on his shoulder just as he reached for the doorknob.

“Dick I-”

“ENOUGH!” Bruce felt a hand on his chest push him roughly away and in surprise he fell to the ground. Looking up he saw Dick breathing heavily through his nose, hand outstretched and a strange haze of red covering his eyes. The two stared at one another for a moment before Dick yanked the study door open and quickly walked out of the room. Bruce sat on the ground staring after him. His mind fixated on the image of Dick’s usually bright hopeful blue eyes tinged red in rage.

It took longer than Bruce was proud to admit for him to realize that something was wrong. _Brainwashing?_ _That would explain the behavior but not the eyes. Drugs?_ Bruce was unaware of any drug that could have that effect on an individual. But whatever it was it was clear that Dick was not in his right mind. Just as relief started to settle over him he felt a jolt of panic get him off the floor. _He had to catch Dick before he left the manor_. Running out the room he quickly made his way down the staircase. Faintly hearing the sound of an engine starting and car wheels pulling out of the driveway. Looking up he saw Damian and Tim staring at him in worry. Damian’s usually closed-off face shining with freshly fallen tears. Pushing that to the side Bruce turned to Tim who met him at the bottoms of the stairs.

“Somethings wrong with Dick.” 

“Barbara called, apparently he was drugged last night.” Bruce tensed,  _ well that explained his son’s behavior _ . Anger at himself washed over him at the fact that he hadn’t realized immediately that something was wrong with Dick. That he had let his son walk out even though he was clearly not himself. Dick wouldn’t allow them to treat him willingly, not in his current state, and so they would need all the help they could get. 

“Call the others.”

**Tim’s P.O.V.**

If you had told Tim this morning that he would be comforting Damian from something Dick had said, he would have laughed in your face. The fact that he was the one comforting Damian to begin with was a strange sight for the rest of the family. Though the two had long gotten over their hatred for one another, their brotherly animosity tinged every interaction they had. But the fact that it was Dick who had upset the boy, kind-hearted Dick who would sooner eat glass then insult his family, was what really unnerved him. 

Tim knew that he took Dick’s kindness for granted, they all did. But his brother gave love so freely, so easily, that Tim had long ago expected it from him. Expected a bone-crushing hug and a hand ruffling through his hair, expected soft praise and a blinding smile every time he saw him. And the fact that something had changed who Dick fundamentally was, to such an extreme, was unnerving.

So he said nothing as he watched Barbara explain the situation to Bruce, Cass, and Stephanie (the latter two coming as soon as Tim called). Instead Tim sat to the side with his arm flung around Damian’s shoulder, taking in the information.

“He called me last night during patrol.” Barbara explained pulling up a video on the Batcomputer showing Nightwing fighting off five goons and a sixth one sneaking up on him. The video showed Nightwing turning and the goon blowing a red powdery substance into his face. After a moment of coughing and sputtering, Nightwing attacked the guy and tied them up for the police. “After the police arrived he sent a sample of the drug over to me. But I couldn’t immediately get a read on it because there wasn’t anything like it in the system.” Tim frowned at that.

“I thought you had a record of every known opioid and toxin?” Four heads turned to look at him and Tim felt a small blush creep up his neck at the attention. Barbara however just smiled.

“I do. But this drug is still new to the market and when compared to man-made toxins nothing matched.” At this Bruce moved to the computer and typed something in, bringing up a drug analysis report. He scanned through it reading each ingredient that made up the body of the drug.

“Nothing ‘man-made’ matched?” Barbara nodded her attention turning from Tim too Stephanie who had remained relatively quiet up until this point.

“So I thought ‘what if a component of the drug came from something else?’ Something like-”

“Red kryptonite.” Barbara nodded at Bruce again, who turned from the computer to face them. “Dick’s not Kryptonian though, and he was acting more cruel than angry.” Barbara shrugged and folded her hands over her lap.

“It’s not pure kryptonite, it’s been integrated with various other toxins and stimulants. My guess is that the combination modified the symptoms of the drug.” Tim felt Damian pull away from where he was sitting next to him and stomp over to the others, arms crossed in irritation.

“As interesting as this all is, we need to go and get Richard and get him back to normal before he does something he’ll regret.”  _ Too late for that,  _ Tim thought as he walked over to the group.  _ Once he’s back to normal he’s going to beat himself up over how he acted even if it’s not his fault. _

“Do we know how long the symptoms last, will this go away on its own?” Tim asked, looking from Damian to Barbara.

“If I had to guess, it will most likely go away in a couple of days, but Damian is right we shouldn’t wait that long. The less damage control the better. As soon as I discovered the components of the drug I started making an antitoxin. Get him back here and we’ll be able to get him back to normal sooner rather than later.” Bruce nodded in agreement.

“Then that’s what will do.”

Without another word the others started to head back up to the manor to head out to Dick’s apartment. As it was the middle of the day it would be strange for five vigilantes to climb through Dick’s window so the family would be making the trip as civilians. Tim was about to head up when a small hand closed around his wrist stopping him. Looking up he met Stephanie's worried eyes. 

“You okay? You seem a little shaken up.” Tim nodded, a small but reassuring smile crossing his face.

“I’ll be fine. I’m more worried about him.” He nodded to where Damian was climbing the stairs. “Dick said some things to him that I think shocked him, and shocked me too if I’m being honest. I don’t think I’d ever heard Dick be mean.”

“He’s hurt.” Tim looked over to Cass who was standing on Stephanie's other side. He followed her gaze back to Damian before meeting it again. Cass pointed at her heart, “In here, he’s hurt. Words from Dick mean more than Bruce, for Damian especially.” Tim knew what she meant. Even though Dick talked more then Bruce his words seemed to hold more weight, you knew he always meant what he said, he never lied. Bruce didn’t either, but he let his actions speak for him.

“Well then, we’ll just have to get Dick back to normal so he can annoy Damian until he feels better again.”

**Dick’s P.O.V.**

Dick looked up from where he was sitting and reading on his couch as a loud banging filled his apartment. He ignored it for a while, not in the mood to deal with his landlord or his obnoxious neighbor from across the hall. The banging continued and a loud booming voice followed it.

“We know your home Dick, we need to talk.” Rolling his eyes he flung his book to the side in agitation and walked to the door. Swinging it open he interrupted Bruce mid knock. He looked over and saw Tim and Damian standing to Bruce’s left and Stephanie and Cass looking at him in concern from behind Bruce’s right shoulder. Turning his glare to the man he crossed his arms and leaned against his door frame.

“What do you want?”

“We need to talk Dick.”

“Then talk.” Dick felt a faint flicker of satisfaction as Bruce shifted obviously uncomfortable.

“I was hoping we could do this somewhere private.” With a heavy sigh Dick got up from his leaning position and walked back into his apartment. Hearing the others follow him slowly as they gently closed his door behind them. Once in the living room, he turned back to them, making sure there were a couple of feet between them.

“We’re in private, talk.”

“We need you to come home.” Dick let out a short sharp laugh at that. From the corner of his eye, he saw Damian flinch at the sound and Stephanie and Tim look at one another uneasily. Cass, however, seemed unphased and stared at him with a blank look on her face. He met her gaze and felt anger surge at her scrutiny.

“What.” He growled, but she remained nonplussed simply tilting her head to the side as she took him in. He sensed Bruce take a step closer to him and bringing his attention back to the man, he stepped back. “I’m not going ‘home’ Bruce, I have no desire to spend time around any of you.” 

“Dick you need to come back, Barbara found out what was in the drug you inhaled last night. It’s making you act like this-”

“Act like what Bruce, like I have a spine? Like I’m not some mindless drone who only exists to give you all motivational speeches? Because if that’s the effect then maybe I don’t want to go back to who I was before.” He could see Bruce’s face fall at his words, obviously hoping Dick would go easy on him, but he had no interest in playing into Batman’s hand.

“This isn’t you Dick.”   


  
“Oh, I think it is. I’m tired of living as a punching bag for this family of having to put up with all of your bullshit. None of you are ever there for me so why should I be there for you?” Tim came up from around Bruce and Dick took another step back.

“That’s not true.” Dick laughed again.

“Isn’t it?”

“Of course it’s not, we love you Dick. We would do anything for you which is why we want to help you now. If you were in your right mind you wouldn’t be saying these things.” Tim looked at him imploringly as though begging him to understand.

“Don’t act all innocent.” He sneered looking over all of them, “Don’t let the drug excuse away what I’ve said. You don’t get to pretend that I didn’t mean every single word. And you don’t get to pretend that I’m wrong.” 

He turned his head to Bruce. “You’re a coward.” 

To Damian “Pathetic.”

Cass, “Broken.”

Stephanie, “Stupid.”

Finally, he came back to Tim, “and cold.”

Dick smirked as they took the insults to heart, bowing their heads in what he could only assume was shame. Finally moving towards them, Dick roughly grabbed Tim's head and brought his gaze up to him, staring down at the boy in disdain. 

“I’m done putting up with all of you, so do me a favor and get the hell out of my apartment.” He was about to let go when he suddenly felt a sharp prick in his arm. Looking down he saw Tim holding a now empty needle. Taking a step back he stumbled as the sedatives flowed through his body. His vision already getting fuzzy. Going down to his knees he tried to stand back up only for a wave of vertigo to cause him to go crashing to the floor. Black spots filling his vision. The last thing he saw was his family looking down at him in concern before the darkness enveloped him completely.

************************

The first thing Dick heard when he woke up was the quiet beeping of a heart monitor to his right. The sound lulling him out of unconsciousness with its steady noise. The next thing he heard were the quiet murmurings of his family around him. He couldn’t pick up the words but there was a general tone of worry that made Dick want to wake up faster.

Opening his eyes he was met with the blinding white light of the med bay. He snapped them close again with a groan and covered his face with his arms. The murmurings stopped and after a moment Dick felt a hand run through his hair.

“Dick?” Lowering his arms he slowly blinked his eyes back open and after a moment the blurry view of his Father came into focus. Bruce smiled when he got his attention and continued to run his hand through his hair. “Hey chum, how are you feeling?” 

“Like I got hit by a bus.” Slowly sitting up he ignored Bruce's reprimanding glare and looked around the cave. He saw his siblings seated beside his bed wearily staring at him, all except Damian who looked pointedly at the floor. “What happened and why are you all looking at me like that?” He saw Tim and Bruce share a look before turning their attention back on him.

“What do you remember?” Frowning Dick looked away from Bruce and thought back. He could remember patrol last night, there had been a new drug shipment and he had gone to the docks to stop it. A guy had gotten the drop on him and…. 

Dick gasped as the rest of the day flooded back to him. All the cruel things he had said to his family, the anger that he had felt. Looking back to his Father he saw a look of understanding on Bruce’s face. And without hesitation, he flung himself into the man’s arms wrapping him up in a tight hug.

“I didn’t mean it, I didn’t mean any of it. I’m so sorry Bruce. I don’t think any of what I said is true. I’m so sorry.” He felt Bruce tighten his hold around him at the words.

“It’s okay Dick, I know you didn’t mean it. We all know, it wasn’t your fault.”  _ Right his siblings were there _ pulling away from Bruce Dick turned back around and caught Tim’s eye. Tim smiled softly before indicating to Damian who was still staring at the floor. Getting up from the cot Dick kneeled in front of Damian and began to reach out his hand before stopping himself and drawing it back in.

“Dami?” Damian tensed at the name and DIck felt shame flood through him at what he had done. “Dami please look at me.” It was silent for a long moment until finally, Damian lifted his head and met Dick’s gaze. A guarded look was on his face but Dick could tell he was hurt. “I’m so sorry Dami, I didn’t mean any of it. I love you so much. And I love it when you talk to me about your day. I’m so sorry at what I said.” A look of hope began appearing on Damian’s face but still, he held himself tense. Slowly Dick lifted his hand and when Damian didn’t move he gently placed it on his shoulder. “You’re not pathetic Damian, of course you're not. You’re smart and brave, and have gone through things that no one should have to go through. I love you so much and I- '' He was cut off as Damian launched himself into his arms. Sending Dick backwards at the momentum. Tightly wrapping his arms around the boy he sat up and began running his hand through Damian's hair.

Looking around he saw the rest of his family smiling down at them, a look of relief on all their faces. He would apologize to all of them individually later. But for now, all he could feel was love for them all. Mouthing an apology over Damian’s head Dick burrowed his face into his brother’s hair and rocked them both.

Vowing silently to himself that he would do everything he could to make sure he never hurt them again.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! A second chapter will be posted dealing with the aftermath of Dick's words.


End file.
